Subscribe to Print Edition | Sat., June 27, 2009 Tamuz 5, 5769 | | Israel Time: 05:44 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Focus U.S.A. Travel Week's End Anglo File
Share |
Last update - 13:00 17/06/2009
Savior of Jews in Holocaust gets Tel Aviv burial
By Nir Hasson
Tags: Warsaw Ghetto, Israel News 

The ashes of a Polish man who saved 12 Jews during the Holocaust were buried in the Kiryat Shaul cemetery in Tel Aviv Tuesday, along with those of his wife.

Warsaw native Jerzy Wunsche hid the Jews, who had escaped the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto, in an apartment he rented especially for that purpose. Two of the people he saved in 1943, Yosef Atlasowicz and Miriam Sherman, attended the funeral. Wunsche raised Sherman, who was a baby at the time, for three years after World War II ended; he then handed her over to the Jewish Agency.

Wunsche, who moved to England and Monaco after the war, died about a year ago. At that point, his family discovered that in his will, he had asked to be buried under the tree planted in his honor at the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. His wife Zofia, who died afterward, asked to be buried beside him.
Advertisement
However, burial at Yad Vashem proved impossible, so the museum and Atlasowicz instead arranged for the couple's burial in the portion of the Kiryat Shaul cemetery reserved for righteous gentiles, the term used for non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust. His family flew to Israel for the unusual ceremony.

"He was a very modest man," said Wunsche's son, John. "He thought what he was doing was normal, and that everyone should have done it."

  • More Jewish World stories
    • PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
    Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Three years, no Shalit
    WATCH: People around world read in various languages Gilad's tale of coexistence.
    Demilitarized Palestine
    After meeting EU leaders, PM insists controversial plan for peace will gain support.
      1.   Jerzy Wunsche did not act "normally" 08:39  |  HH 17/06/09
      2.   Savior 15:28  |  The Teacher/Instruct 17/06/09
      3.   Tears in my eyes 17:38  |  Josh 17/06/09
      4.   THank you to his family for carrying out his wishes 17:52  |  friend of history 17/06/09
      5.   Mecsch and Hero 17:59  |  Paul 17/06/09
      6.   #1 How many Poles were rescued by Jews ... 18:28  |  Polish guy 17/06/09
      7.   JESUSALEN 22:56  |  JESUSALEN 20/06/09
      8.   For Polish guy 17:50  |  American Guy 25/06/09
      9.   Thank you 03:29  |  Zvi 27/06/09
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    hotel Jerusalem
    David Citadel Hotel, come stay at the finest of Jerusalem hotels.
    ISRAEL ARMY SURPLUS STORE
    IDF insignia,Uniforms, Paladium Boots Watches, Israel Army T-shirts & Collectibles
    Dead Sea Skin Care
    Quality cosmetics from the Dead Sea. Coupon code HAARETZ for 12% off!
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    More Headlines
    01:04 Blair: Netanyahu election could be a blessing
    03:00 Obama scoffs at Ahmadinejad's demand for apology
    23:20 Are Fatah and Hamas on road to reconciliation?
    00:16 Israel envoy blasts UN report on Palestinians as 'biased'
    01:11 Set to become Lebanon PM, Hariri meets with Nasrallah
    00:27 Thousdands of Haredim protest against opening of Jerusalem parking lot
    02:48 New York prosecutors seek 150-year sentence for Madoff
    20:58 WATCH: Daily news round-up from Israel
    04:44 Israel's Dudi Sela reaches fourth round at Wimbledon
    02:55 Michael Jackson death still unsolved after autopsy
    13:47 Bringing Gilad home - A look at the Shalit family's struggle
    10:57 Shalit transfer to Egypt is imminent
    13:39 Meet Aaron Katz, Poland's first openly gay rabbi
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
    | Israel 2009 election results | Makom: Engaging on Israel
    | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved